What You Might Have Missed In Marvel’s January 2016 Solicitations

Every month, comic publishers release their solicitation announcements to provide information to readers and retailers on comics that are coming out in three months’ time, but there’s so much information dropped at once that a lot can slip through the cracks.

This month, in Marvel's January solicitations, it's all about the big returns, with some fan favorite heroes and villains showing up, a critically acclaimed character getting a second chance, and love in the air in the Spider-Verse.

Bullseye's Back!

Daredevil #16 (Charles Soul & Goran Sudzuka)

The last time we saw Bullseye, he was locked in a coffin-shaped iron lung and blinded by the same radioactive waste that turned Matt Murdock into Daredevil, but it seems that as the mystery surrounding the hero's new status quo heats up, his ultimate nemesis is making a similarly mysterious return to the fold. Bullseye has his own ongoing sometime soon, so it wouldn't be surprising if this serves as a launching point his solo series.

Gwen And Miles, Sitting In A Tree

Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen are two of the most popular new characters of the past decade, so it's about time they met and teamed up. I'm personally a bit uncomfortable with the age difference between the two if it does indeed lead to some sort of romance as suggested (Miles is 16, Gwen is 19), but the clashing of tones between Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen in this mini-crossover should be really fun.

Fan-Favorite Mutants Return

Deadpool & The Mercs For Money #7 (Cullen Bunn & Iban Coello)

By the time we get to January, we'll be waist-deep in IvXas the Inhumans and X-Men go to war, but one of the biggest surprises is seeing that it'll be spilling over into Deadpool and The Mercs For Money with the return of Polaris and Rachel Grey.

Both characters kinda dropped off the radar a few years ago, but have huge fan-followings --- as literally every X-Man does, apparently --- so there are some people out there getting really excited about this news.

Nighthawk Lives!

Occupy Avengers #3 (David Walker & Carlos Pacheco)

The cancellation of David Walker, Ramon Villalobos and Tamra Bonvillain's Nighthawk was incredibly sad to see, as few books get to be as socially and politically relevant within a superhero universe. I'm generally a bit sour on creators carrying over "pet characters" onto their next project, but there's still a lot of story to tell with Nighthawk, and I'm glad Walker is getting the chance to tell it.

The Taskmaster Returns!

Captain America: Steve Rogers #10 (Nick Spencer & Jesus Saiz)

Taskmaster is a personal fave, so his return in the less fascist Captain America book is hopefully a sign of good things as it digs into the whole "Steve's a Nazi" plot. I love that, in this day and age where heroes and villains get sleek, tactical and kinda boring costumes, Taskmaster is still out here looking like a skeleton pirate. He's got a look, he's sticking to it, and I appreciate that.